Consequences
by Pica Britanica
Summary: A sort of side story which delves into Hatter and Dodo's tense relationship. Just because this pair seem to have a lot of history.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello peoples. I hope you're all good and well, and ready for a dive down the rabbit hole into the fire that is the relationship between Hatter and Dodo. **

**I feel I should point out, I don't own _Alice _in any shape or form. All belongs to Syfy channel, except Sparrow, but then, she's just flitting around my head, I doubt they'd want her. :)**

"_Hatter?" a young voice called, Hatter heard the young girl's footsteps as she walked into his office. He spun around in his chair and smiled at her. She flung her long plait over her shoulder and grinned, "Hatter what are you still doing here?"_

"_Just finishing some paper work, I thought you'd gone back with your father." Hatter frowned as he placed down his tea. _

_Sparrow shook her head, "Nope. I wanted to see you." _

_Hatter had another thought, "Does your father know you're still here?_

_An embarrassed smile grew on her face as the girl said, "You won't tell him will you?"_

_Hatter sighed and was about to say something when the sound of glass shattering interrupted him. The pair looked in the direction of the sound, "Come on. Time to go." Hatter whispered as he took his young friend's hand and led her through the secret exit. _

_Suddenly the world spun and Hatter and the girl were running for their lives, the sharp whiz of bullets speeding past them filling the air. A cry from behind him alerted the Hatter to trouble. He turned to see Sparrow fall, her blood already staining the floor around her. As quickly as he could Hatter ran back towards her and scooped her writhing body up into his arms. And again he set off running, charging through the streets of Wonderland until he could lose his assailants. _

_He crouched in an alleyway with Sparrow clutched in his arms, watching helplessly as blood poured from the wound in her side. "Hatter…" Sparrow whispered hoarsely. _

"_Hey, I'm here." Hatter soothed, brushing a stray strand of hair from her pale face. _

"_Hatter, promise…" the young girl's body shook as she hissed in pain, "Promise you'll stay."_

"_I promise," Hatter said, knowing full well the cost of breaking such a promise. _

_Hatter let out a sob as the light left Sparrow's eyes, they flickered closed and her breathing slowed to a halt. She was dead._

Hatter woke with a cry. "Sparrow!" he gasped, it took him a moment to realise where he was. He was on the sofa of Alice's apartment, where he had slept for two nights in a row now. He sat up and pulled the sweat soaked blanket off himself. He glanced around and quickly located his hat; Mrs Hamilton had placed it on the new hat stand Alice had bought especially.

Hatter sighed and made his way over to the door that concealed Alice's room from him. He thought about seeing if she was awake, but better of it. Alice could have a terrible mood when she just woke up. Instead, Hatter made his way back to the sofa and sat down; he glanced out of the widow in front of him and saw a cat grinning at him. "Cheshire?" he whispered as he quickly made his way over to the window. As he approached however, the cat disappeared, literally. "Stupid cat." Hatter muttered. He opened the window and let the icy night air wash over him.

"Hatter?" Alice said, startling Hatter.

"Alice, what are you doing up?" he asked as he spun around to face her.

"A question better put by me to you, seeing as you were the one who woke me." Alice smiled gently. Hatter noticed her eyes slowly take in his bare chest, and he suddenly regretted taking off his shirt, he was frozen with the window open.

"Ah… I just couldn't sleep." he said as he shoved the window shut and moved swiftly across the room, picked up his shirt and pulled it over his head in one fluid movement.

Alice smiled again before asking, "Bad dream?"

"Something like that." Hatter muttered as he glanced again at the place where Cheshire had just been. Alice sat down on the sofa, and patted the empty place next to her. Hatter thought about it for a moment, before joining her on the sofa and letting her pull him closer in to her.

"Want to share?" she asked as she rested her head against him.

"Nah… it was nothing really. Just a bad dream, you can go back to bed if you want." Hatter tried to reassure her. But from the raised eyebrow he received, Hatter could tell it wasn't working. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, blinking tears from his eyes. Eventually he spoke again, "I have to go back to Wonderland for a little while."

Alice pushed herself up and turned to look at Hatter, "Why?" she asked quietly.

Hatter just shook his head and turned away, desperately trying to rid himself of the terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Alice sighed and cocked her head slightly, "I wish you'd tell me what's gotten you so upset, Hatter."

Hatter smiled ruefully before turning back to face Alice, "It's fine. Please Alice, just leave it now."

"Fine," Alice nodded, "but you're not staying on the sofa then." And suddenly she grabbed Hatter's hand and dragged him across the room to her bedroom.

Hatter whispered his protests, "No, Alice! I told your mum I'd stay on the sofa! I don't want her to-" Alice placed a hand firmly over his mouth.

"Just shut up already." Alice laughed; she quickly removed her hand and shoved him into her room before he could argue further. With a quick grin in Hatter's direction, Alice spun and kicked the man onto the bed. He let out a confused squawk as his legs disappeared from beneath him.

Alice laughed as Hatter sat up quickly. "Don't ever do that again… please." he gasped, a small smile spreading across his face.

"Finally," Alice said, mirroring Hatter with a smile of her own. She lay down next to him and closed her eyes, within minutes, she was fast asleep.

Hatter glanced down at the absolute love of his life, she looked so peaceful, a smile playing on her lips and her right arm gently hugging Hatter's waist. He brushed a dark strand of hair from her beautiful face and kissed her forehead. But he knew he had to go, there was no use pretending. The cat had come to remind him of his promise, and now it was time to face the consequences.

Silently Hatter slipped out from under Alice's arm and slid back into the living room, he collected his hat and grabbed a pen and paper from the coffee table. He quickly scribbled a note on it and made his way back into Alice's room, where the looking glass stood. He placed the note on the bed next to Alice and stood in front of the glass, for a moment, he simply stared at his reflection, taking in the ruffled hair and sleep deprived eyes. And then finally, he took a breath and stepped forward into the filmy surface of the looking glass.

**A/N: So, a review would be much appreciated, and the next chapter will be up soon.  
>Mags <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Greetings peoples, as always, a lovely note to start. I don't own Alice, or anything else of significance really. *bad times* anyway, enjoy.**

Alice stumbled out of the Looking Glass and looked about… and realised she could be anywhere in Wonderland. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down before looking around again, okay, so there was a broom and a bucket and a pile of books. Alice could have catalogued the room's occupants forever, there was so much stuff crammed in there, but eventually she found what she had been looking for, a door. She shoved her way through the clutter until she reached it. Yet when she came to the door, she found that it was much too small for her to fit through. She looked around for another exit, but found none. So Alice found herself back at the tiny door with no other way out.

She sat staring at the door for a while before she got bored and decided to take another look around the small room, which she had now decided was a cupboard. After much rummaging had taken place, Alice came upon a small garden. At least, it looked like a garden. It was a shelf with grass and neatly pruned flowers on it.

One part of the garden in particular caught Alice's attention, a small clump of mushrooms with arrows on them. One half of the mushrooms had arrows pointing up, and the other had arrows pointing down. Alice figured that there must be some logic in this place and picked a mushroom with a down arrow on it, and nibbled a corner of it.

To her amazement, Alice began to shrink a little, she nibbled a little more, and again she shrunk. Alice kept on nibbling at the mushroom until she was about the same size as the door. She was of course privy to the story of Alice in Wonderland, and how the silly girl had eaten way too much of the mushroom, causing her a ridiculous amount of growth spurts during her time in Wonderland.

Happy with her size at last, Alice made her way across the room, which was a great deal more difficult now she was no more than three inches tall. Finally she made it to the door and found much to her relief that the door was unlocked and she needn't go looking for a key. She pushed open the door and stepped out into the Great Library. So, this was where Hatter had gone. She wandered along the balcony until she found the stairs. She noticed after a while that she was slowly growing back to normal size. By the time she reached the ground floor of the library she was back to her normal size.

Alice looked around as she scanned the Great Library, but there was no sign of Hatter anywhere among the shelves upon shelves of books. She did however notice a small woman skittering around and tidying up, Owl!

The woman in question glanced up from the book she was holding and gave a cry of joy when she noticed Alice. "Alice of Legend!" she cried, hurrying over to her, "How lovely to see you again."

"You too Owl. Have you seen Hatter recently?" Alice asked as the older woman led her over to a small desk.

"Hatter? No, not here, why do you ask?"

"He came through the looking glass last night. It brought me here, I wondered if you'd seen him." Alice frowned as she looked around the vast library, "Hey the library's looking good now." she commented.

Owl, pleased by the praise, beamed up at Alice and nodded, "Oh yes. It's much better now it can actually be used as a library."

"Owl, is Hatter trying to hide something from me?" Alice asked outright.

Owl stopped in her step and turned back to Alice, "My dear, I'm not sure that's my place to say is it?"

"But he is hiding something, isn't he?"

Owl sighed and nudged her glasses further up her nose, "Miss Alice, I don't agree with Hatter keeping secrets, that's not the way his mother brought him up, and it's certainly not the way I brought him up either. But if he believes it's better not to tell you, then I won't intervene." And with that, Owl was off down another narrow alley of books.

Alice thought about what Owl had said for a moment, before running after the smaller woman, "Owl, wait. Did you say that you brought Hatter up?"

"Oh yes, when he came to the library for the first time I decided that I would act as a foster mother to him. Poor little thing, he was only young when his family were killed." Owl sat down on a small pile of books and patted the ground next to her; Alice joined her on the floor and waited patiently for Owl to begin her story.

**A/N: Coming up next is a back story chapter or two, from Owl's perspective. Please leave a review for this chapter, reviews make me smile. Many thanks.  
>Mags <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the ridiculously long wait people, I blame life... anyway, disclaimer blah blah blah: I don't own any of this except the plot and Sparrow. Enjoy.**

Owl smiled and began to recite her story, "When Hatter first came to the library, he was only young. His family had once been one of the most influential families in all of Wonderland, but then his father went against the queen and sided with the rebels. She wasn't happy, believe me. She sent suits after the entire family, but Hatter managed to escape before the suits arrived. He had been running for days when Duck found him outside the entrance to the library.

"Poor dear was almost frozen to death, so we brought him inside and warmed him up. It wasn't until he spoke that we realised who he was. And he didn't have that accent he puts on now, oh no, he was quite the little gentleman in his speech. Anyhow, I was smitten with the little dear and brought him before Dodo to ask whether I could keep him here.

"He was very polite and vowed he's help all he could to bring down the house of cards. So Dodo agreed, but he wasn't the only person in his office to meet Hatter for the first time that day. Dodo's daughter, Sparrow, was with him. Dodo never let her out of his sight after her mother died. But as soon as she met Hatter, Sparrow decided she was his biggest fan. She followed him everywhere, like a baby chick. The pair became inseparable, it was lovely to see Hatter getting along with her, they both seemed to be outcasts from the group of children living in the Library at the time."

"The little chick followed Hatter around everywhere… she adored him. The thing was, she wanted to be like Hatter, he was quick and clever, a bonny lad too. Well, as you can imagine Dodo didn't like it. He was suspicious of Hatter; he didn't trust him because of his background. He's always been a bit like that. And he didn't want his daughter anywhere near Hatter, and to be honest I think he was jealous… Sparrow wasn't nearly as admiring of him as she was Hatter.

"Dodo seemed to allow the friendship for a short while, but once Hatter reached eighteen Dodo sent him up top to be a scout and smuggler. The smugglers didn't live down here; it was too dangerous for us. Anyway, Sparrow was distraught; she had no real friends in the library except Hatter, and now her father had sent him away. She just spent all her time hiding in the den she and Hatter made, it's still up somewhere – Dodo won't let it get taken down." Owl looked up at Alice with a small smile, "I'm rambling again aren't I?"

"I don't mind." Alice replied, thinking about Hatter and his most interesting past…

"Oh good, what was I saying…" Owl mumbled, "Oh yes, so Sparrow spent all her time in the den moping. And one day I decided to go up top, I hadn't done it in ages. And I took Sparrow with me to see Hatter. They had such a lovely time; this was before he owned the tea shop. Hatter showed her the trees and the river, they even went swimming. Sparrow enjoyed it so much, and Hatter, well, let's just say I hadn't seen him grin like that in ages, not until he met you.

"The thing was, once he acquired the tea shop it became harder for Hatter to see Sparrow, it was dangerous. Sparrow didn't really understand… she was still in awe of Hatter and just wanted to play. She was beginning to grow in courage up top as well; she started sneaking out on her own to see Hatter. Dodo didn't have a clue what was going on between them – that is until…"

"Until?" Alice prompted gently.

Owl sighed, "One day, Hatter had closed up early and Sparrow decided to go see him, but she wasn't the only one to pay him a visit that day. A raiding squad appeared out of nowhere and attacked the tea shop. Hatter and Sparrow tried to escape, but…" Owl gasped back tears, "Poor little thing didn't have a chance."

Alice suddenly realised what she meant, "Sparrow's dead?"

Owl nodded solemnly, "I'm afraid so, yes. The suit who pursued them got a near on direct hit on her heart, she died in Hatter's arms in a dingy alley up top. Hatter carried her all the way back to the library; he was in bits when I found him. It was awful, Hatter just became blank, and Dodo went mad. He was screaming at Hatter, but it fell on deaf ears. I've never seen Dodo so distraught, so crazed, he blamed Hatter for what happened, he said Sparrow would never have died if she hadn't met Hatter. I think he still blames him, even now."

Alice sat in silence, pondering over the new revelation about her Hatter. Why hadn't he told her? She frowned, "I need to find Hatter."

Owl nodded, "I'll help you look, he could be anywhere in here." she said gesturing to the giant library surrounding them.

The pair rose from their makeshift seats and began to search the library for Hatter, it made sense that he would still be in the library, the Looking Glass had brought Alice here, to Hatter. They were checking in one of the numerous offices when a hoarse cry of pain rang out through the library. Alice stopped, "Was that?"

"Hatter!" Owl finished for her. She turned and looked off down a darkened corridor. "The den, come on." she called as she scurried off down the hallway, Alice found herself sprinting to keep up, wow, Owl was fast when she wanted to be. Another cry rang out, and Alice sped up overtaking Owl and following her instincts to find her beloved Hatter.

"Hatter?" she called out, turning around in a circle to look at the doors surrounding her.

"Alice?" Hatter's strained voice called out in surprise. Alice quickly located the door concealing her Hatter and slammed through it. It took her a moment to comprehend what she was seeing. Dodo was stood in the centre of the room with a gun in his hand. Hatter was bleeding, badly, and leaning heavily against the back wall of the little room. Then she realised where she was, "Sparrow's den…" she whispered to herself as she stepped into the room.

**A/N: Did you like it? Let me know, it's really easy, a big button just over there, go on... you know you want to. :) Thanks.  
>Mags<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yeah... don't know if I like this chapter that much. I'll repost something new if I make a better alternative. Disclaimer: I don't own Alice.**

Hatter had found the room he was looking for after an age of searching, even though he had spent most of his youth there he still couldn't find it. He slipped inside and switched on the light, it was all still here, after all this time. He wandered around the room for a little while before something caught his eye.

He knelt down in front of a small picture frame containing a worn photo of a boy around 17 and a girl about 5 years old. The girl had soft blonde hair in a long plait down her back and a porkpie hat that was much too big for her. The boy was laid on his back, smiling up at her. Hatter sighed and ran a finger over the girl's face. He missed her. He stood up and walked slowly around the pile of cushions and blankets and other random objects he and Sparrow had acquired over the years. He picked up a small teddy bear and smiled, its ear was missing and its fur was matted and worn, but it was still hers, 'Hattie' she'd named it.

Hatter remembered finding it, not long after he had moved to the library and giving it to Sparrow. He found his first hat that day too, not the one he wore now, a much older one, a flat cap. Owl said it made him look like he belonged in England, somewhere in the Oyster world. Alice had promised to take him there next summer.

Hatter shook his head and replaced the stuffed toy on the shelf, images of Sparrow's grinning face filling his mind, memories of the day he'd presented her with her first gift. She'd been so happy with her present, she carried it around everywhere in her pocket. Even though it was much too big for her pocket. Hatter glanced around the den, which had once been a disused store cupboard until Hatter and Sparrow had taken it over.

The fun they'd had in here, all the games, pretending to be heroes of the resistance, taking down the Queen once and for all. Hatter laughed, he never actually believed he'd succeed in his wild fantasy. Yet, it had happened: in helping Alice to get home he'd accidentally caused the coup that freed Wonderland of the tyrannical queen. Hatter turned to leave but stopped short, "You broke your promise!" Dodo snarled before punching Hatter in the face.

The blow had almost knocked Hatter out, almost. It just managed to daze him enough for Dodo to lock the door and move him further into the room. Hatter knew from experience that the door behind Dodo was the only escape route. And there was a rather portly Dodo stood in front of it.

Hatter pushed himself up off the floor… how did he end up on the floor again? Oh yeah, that punch from Dodo. Wow, ow… that hurt actually. He gingerly wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and struggled to his feet. Dodo hadn't moved since his almighty punch, but Hatter could still feel his eyes on him.

"Dodo, I-"

"Shut up!" Dodo hissed, "I don't want to hear any more of your pathetic excuses. You know your crime."

Hatter almost sighed, hadn't his life until meeting Alice been punishment enough? Apparently not, as Dodo came in for another blow. Hatter crashed into the table and chairs behind him and tumbled over.

"Dodo, please. Just listen!"

His pleas were getting him nowhere, time for plan B. Hatter lashed out with his right fist, but Dodo ducked beneath his wild swing and caught Hatter's arm. He smashed his elbow into Hatter's shoulder and forced him to the ground. "You will pay for her death, and your broken promise, child of Spades."

Hatter winced at the use of his old title; no-one had called him that since, well, since before his mother died.

"It wasn't my fault." Hatter ground out, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall. He struggled against Dodo, who had his foot in Hatter's back, but to no avail. "Dodo, I did all I could."

"She wouldn't have died if she didn't know you."

"I know that!" Hatter shouted, he gave a sob and felt Dodo's foot lift off his back. He got to his knees and looked up at his attacker, "I know that." he whispered again.

Dodo stared at him for a moment, contemplating what to do with him, before slapping him across the face. "You still broke your promise. Had you forgotten?"

"No… well… sort of." Hatter admitted.

This flippant admission probably wasn't the best way to say it, as Dodo roared in anger and dragged Hatter up; he rammed him viciously into the back wall. "You forgot!" he hissed, "and you expect me to forgive that?"

"No!" Hatter cried, "No I don't!"

Dodo growled again and launched himself at Hatter, he pounded Hatter's chest and face, pinning him to the wall with a hand at his throat. He pulled a gun from his pocket and pressed it against Hatter's chest. Hatter was really regretting leaving his bulletproof vest in Alice's spare wardrobe…

Just then a voice called out from the other side of the door, "Hatter?" Alice called.

"Alice?" Hatter looked up in surprise. The door smashed open and Alice walked in, she surveyed the situation before her with those cool blue eyes and whispered, "Sparrow's den…"

"And mine!" Hatter whined, all attention was drawn back to him, which probably wasn't the best thing to happen. Alice rolled her eyes; Dodo pushed the gun further into Hatter's chest and Owl, who had been standing in the doorway, gave a pitiful cry of anguish.

Alice leapt over the ruined furniture and grabbed Dodo by the arm, throwing him to the side. Unfortunately, Dodo managed to pull the trigger as he fell.

The shot rang out through the whole library and time seemed to slow to a halt. Alice grabbed Hatter by the waist and pulled him up. Hatter gripped his shoulder and hissed in pain.

"Please tell me you've got-"

"I forgot to wear it." Hatter murmured shakily.

Owl wailed, "You shot Hatter! Again!" before slapping an already dazed Dodo across the face.

Hatter was vaguely aware of someone calling his name, but he couldn't be sure… he closed his eyes for a moment, he suddenly felt very tired. A voice, closer now, was calling him. "Hatter, Hatter!" the voice sang.

Hatter groaned but didn't open his eyes. He felt someone kneel down beside his injured shoulder and rest a small hand over the wound. "I forgive you, Hatter," the child's voice giggled, "now get up and kiss her already."

Hatter gasped and threw his eyes open. He looked around manically, "Sparrow!" he called.

Alice, who had thought him dead, sobbed with joy, "Hatter, you're alive!" she threw her arms around his neck.

"It would seem so," Hatter frowned, sitting up.

"But you died! I saw you die." Alice babbled, she gently moved away the material covering his wounded shoulder and found, well, no wound. "How?" she breathed.

Hatter stared at his shoulder with equal fascination, "A little birdy told me to do this." he said, forgetting his miraculous recovery for a second to carry out his orders. He pulled Alice closer to him and kissed her, savouring the warmth of her lips.

When they finally parted Hatter smiled and glanced at a still dazed Dodo, he was met by a pair of teary eyes, "It was her, wasn't it?" he asked desperately.

Hatter nodded, "I think so, Dodo."

The pair shared a small, knowing smile. All was forgiven.

**A/N: Sappy ending, I know. But what you gonna do about it? Write a review would be a good place to start. Please.  
>Mags<strong>


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